Mental health and transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A scoping systematic review

To systematically review the literature on mental health symptoms before and after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and describe reported clinical associations with these symptoms.

Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, we reviewed studies involving pre- or post-TAVR mental health assessments or psychiatric diagnoses.

Eighteen studies were included. Before TAVR, clinically significant depression and anxiety prevalence is 15-30% and 25-30%, respectively, with only a third of these meeting diagnostic thresholds. These symptoms generally improve over the year post-TAVR. Depression is associated with functional impairment, multimorbidity, and lower physical activity; few associations have been described in relation to anxiety. Inconsistent evidence finds depression associated with post-TAVR mortality. One notable study found persistent depression independently predictive of 12-month mortality, and another found depression and cognition to have additive value in predicting mortality risk.

Mental health symptoms occur in a significant proportion of the TAVR population. Although symptoms tend to improve, the associations with depression, particularly persistent depression, call for further investigation to examine their associated outcomes. Research is also needed to understand the relationships between mental health conditions and cognition in TAVR-related outcomes.